A motor vehicle transmission typically uses interconnected gear elements and clutches to couple rotatable transmission input and output members, and to thereby establish a desired transmission speed ratio. Clutches are typically fluid-actuated devices having a series of friction plates. A hydraulic piston is actuated so as to compress the friction plates and to thereby transfer torque across the engaged clutch, or to stop rotation of the clutch and any connected members. Plate clutches are typically controlled with a variable rate of slip, such that the state of the clutch can range from fully applied to fully released and anywhere in between.
In some transmissions, a binary clutch assembly having, e.g., a selectable one-way clutch, a lockable freewheeling element, or a dog clutch, is used alone or in conjunction with the rotating and/or braking plate clutches to establish one or more gear states. Unlike conventional plate clutches, a binary clutch, as the name indicates, has just two possible states: fully applied and fully released. When fully released, the binary clutch may freewheel in either rotational direction, and thus one side of the binary clutch effectively slips with respect to the other side.